EU to give Kenya about $602 mln for 2010/11 budget

Kenya's President Mwai Kibaki addresses the official opening of the Kenyan parliament in Nairobi March 6, 2008. REUTERS/Antony Njuguna

NAIROBI (Reuters) - The European Union said on Saturday it will give Kenya about 500 million euros to supplement its 2010/11 budget, a 25 percent rise over 2009/10.

East Africa’s biggest economy on Thursday unveiled a 996.82 billion shilling budget for 2010/11, of which 82.7 billion shillings will be in external financing.

“In the financial year 2009/10, EU Member States and European Commission disbursed more that 400 million euros ... in official development assistance to Kenya,” the EU said in a newspaper advertisement.

“We similarly estimate that approximately 500 million euros will be disbursed in 2010/11.”

In past budgets Kenya has factored in minimal donor funds as donors, concerned about corruption in government, tightened purse strings. This time around, the government says it would lean on external concessional funds.

Sectors that EU assistance has targeted in the past include agriculture, education, energy, roads and health.